Lincoln Brewster preaching about The Power of Weakness
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Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God, the Almighty - the one who always was, who is and who is still to come." - Rev. 4:8b (NLT)
How fascinating those living beings are, they are continually saying these words day after day and night after night as they worship God in front of his majestic throne. As a worship minister, every time I'm on the platform doing my responsibility, I have noticed two groups of people during worship: one group is verbally worshiping God or should I say that they are enthusiastically singing the songs literally and actively responding such words like Amen! Praise God! or Hallelujah! and the other group are the silent ones. I don't know if they are participating in worship or not, they just stand there seems like they are watching what's going on. I'm not judging them saying that they are not participating in worship, only God sees our hearts and minds. Because of these people; the silent ones... I begin to wonder and search the scriptures for reference and answer for my questions like: which worship God prefer? worship without words or worship with words? or does God accept both? As I read the book of Revelations Chapter 4 beginning verse 8b, I have noticed that they are uttering words of worship - DAY AFTER DAY and NIGHT AFTER NIGHT - words unceasingly coming out from their lips, therefore worship in heaven is not silent! all living beings there are opening their lips and speaking words of worship to God. Imagine that sound coming from millions and billions of living beings worshiping God. I believe that God wants to hear from us words of worship for him. This time I would like to give emphasis on the power of words in worship... words that literally comes out from our lips. Let us take a quick look on the book of Psalms. Do you know that this book is a "songbook" of King David as he worship God? have you ever noticed that in every title of it's chapter there includes the word "sang", or "accompanied by instruments" or "to the tune of..." For example, Psalm Chapter 6 is entitled: "For the choir director: A Psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument." Psalm Chapter 7 is entitled: "A Psalm of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin." Psalm Chapter 9 is entitled: "For the Choir Director: A Psalm of David, to be sung to the tune Death of the Son." (Psalm 6, 7 & 9 from NLT) In addition, there is also a "Choir Director" - meaning there is music being played and there are choir who sings the chapter. So if the book of Psalm serves as a "songbook" why God does not include a "soundtrack" or "notation" for musicians to play it? It doesn't mean that music is not important; badly played or written music can make great theology sound obscure or unappealing; otherwise, great music can make shallow lyrics sound profound and incredibly moving. But the main point is this, God values more in the content of the words we utter in worship to him. It is the words, not the music that God chose to preserve for us in the scripture. I believe God is being moved by our worship not for the music but through the words... There is power in the words! The Power of Words in Worship 1. Words are what we use to define God and what he has done in our lives. Words tell us how God had acted in history and what God is actually doing in our lives. Words inform us that we are sinners who deserve the wrath of God. But Jesus has come to suffer the wrath of God in our place, purchase our forgiveness and reconcile us to God. Through words we have the opportunity to say who God is in our lives. In Matthew 4:1-11, When Jesus was being tempted by the devil, he uses his voice, his words as a weapon against the enemy. He spoke the scripture against Satan and as a result, the devil went away leaving him alone. Yes! the scripture has power, but it is more powerful when we speak it out! 2. Words are the primary way God has revealed himself to us and relates to us. We use words because God is a speaking God. From the time of creation He uses his words to create. Genesis 1:3 "Then God said, Let there be light! and there was light..." From the garden of Eden, words have been God's primary means of interacting with Adam. In Exodus Chapter 3, God introduce himself to Moses. He use words to explain what is his plan for the redemption of Israel from Egypt. God always wanted us to know more of him than can be conveyed through impressions, images or sounds. We also introduce Christ to others through our words. Teaching and preaching the good news so that other people may be saved by accepting Jesus and their faith will grow on him. In fact, it says, "The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart." And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trust in him will never be disgraced." Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!" - Rom. 10: 8-15 (NLT) 3. Worship is more than words, but it's not less than words. Encounters with God are sometimes difficult to define. But wordless worship is not somehow better than worship with words. Worship without words can never communicate objective truth and God is defining, objective reality in which we live and move. In Matthew 19:37-40 (NIV) The Pharisees are trying to stop the people in uttering praises to God but Jesus told them if they keep quiet, the stones will come alive to praise God. Apparently, worship works it's way out into words. 4. Words enable us to worship God together. Words enable us to think and say the same things together, rooting our unity in the gospel and not simply in a shared experience. Psalms 133 says, "How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony... And there the Lord has pronounces his blessings even life everlasting" (NLT) 5. Words complete the act of worship. Bob Sorge defines worship on his book Exploring Worship - "Worship is a conversation between God and Man. A dialogue that should go on constantly in the life of a christian" - In every time we hear God's word, our knowledge of him increases in addition to the different experiences we had with God, all of these are being kept in our hearts. As our hearts were being filled of God surely it will overflow out of our lips. We cannot stop saying things about God, his goodness, his mercy. We can never contain it. "For whatever is in your heart determines what you say" - Matthew 12:34b (NLT) My role as a worship leader carries a tough responsibility, one that requires my heart to be in a place of worship before Sunday morning. Yet just like everyone else, I deal with allergies, taxes, bills, the emotional needs of my family.
I have tried to cultivate worship in my family over the years by examining my own walk with God and asking myself if I am modelling authentic worship to my children. I am keenly aware that many times the next generation looks at the preceding one and points to the obvious spiritual contradictions. Day to day, I look for opportunities to point out the hand of God, either in a glorious sunset, a striking cloud formation or an animal in the backyard. I encourage my family to appreciate the beauty in the moment and connect that moment to the Creator behind it. At times we break out the guitar or sit around the piano and sing together. Sometimes we sing worship choruses and sometimes we sing songs from the radio. When we worship God with music, we are simply using a tool to help us connect to a living God. The Psalms provide all kinds of ways in which we can demonstrate or express our worship, such as singing, clapping, kneeling, dancing and playing musical instruments. Yet worship is much more than 20 minutes of singing at a church service. What I try to model for my family and my church is that worship has more to do with relationship than it does with music. It is impossible to worship a living God — sacrificing our bodies, emotions, minds and hearts — and not have it affect all our relationships. Of course, I go through seasons when life is hard and relationships are difficult. On occasional Sundays, I stand before my church and just go through the motions. But I can’t do that for long. We can’t separate worship from relationship any more than we can separate intimacy from a healthy marriage. Just as intimacy wells up from the mutual respect and love within a marriage, worship springs from a surrendered and grateful heart. I have little patience for ungratefulness. I remind my family daily how blessed and fortunate we are. Psalm 103:2 says it best: “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Remembering God’s blessings is the key to a worshiping heart — a heart that desires to live a life of worship through singing, serving, loving and obeying. We can decide to do these things and let the overflow affect others. Our example will remind those around us that there is a God worth knowing and that we were created for His pleasure and purposes. In that sense, we can all be worship leaders by practicing gratitude and walking in fellowship with God. This article first appeared in the May, 2008 issue of Focus on the Family magazine. Today I want to salute the average worship leader. Why? If YouTube videos and conference worship bands are any indicator, we’re unintentionally (I trust) cultivating an understanding of musical worship and its leaders that draws more from rock concerts and Entertainment Tonight than biblical principles.
We can start thinking that the “best” corporate worship context is characterized by bright stage lights, a dimly lit congregation, Intellibeams, fog, high end musical gear, multiple screens, moving graphics, and loud volumes. We can start to think the ideal leader is good-looking, sings tenor, plays a cool instrument (usually guitar), sports hip hair, and writes songs. And by the way, the band members and vocalists should be near studio quality, if not actual studio musicians, and look pretty good themselves. To be clear, I thank God for godly, good-looking, musically gifted, well known leaders who are simply seeking to be faithful and bring glory to Jesus. I know a number of them. And God is all for skill and excellence when we bring our musical offerings to him (Ps. 33:3; 1 Chron. 15:22). Technology isn’t evil (although it inherently affects the message we’re communicating). A Concern Overemphasizing or consistently focusing on technology, skill, and excellence can leave most us with a nagging feeling that our musicians, our leaders, our equipment, and our songs are never quite good enough. We resign ourselves to the thought that we’ll never be as successful, used, or important as the people we see on YouTube and at conferences. Or we breathlessly pursue the trappings and externals of “modern worship,” attaching biblical authority to very cultural practices. That’s why today I want to salute the average worship leader. Are You an Average Leader? By average I don’t mean mediocre or lazy. Just normal. Because that’s what most of those leading in churches today are. Normal. Maybe you can relate to some of these “average worship leader” characteristics: - Your musical training, if any, was years ago.- No one wants you to sing lead on an album, but you get the melody pretty much in tune. - Your vocal range is a little over an octave, but almost always lower than the recorded key. - You prepare and rehearse in the midst of a full time job and responsibilities at home. - You and some of the other musicians could do better with your dieting. - Sometimes it’s hard to figure out the chords or strum pattern on a song. - Your sound system has been pieced together over the years and still works. Most of the time. - Your choices for lighting are ON or OFF. - Twice a year you lead surrounded by a set for “Phantom of the Opera” or some other school play. - You have good folks on your team who don’t have a ton of time to practice or rehearse during the week. - The ages of your team members range from 14 to 56. - Some people in the church love what you do, some aren’t crazy about what you do, and some aren’t sure what you do. - You don’t even try to keep up with the gazillion worship albums released every month. Here’s why I want to honor you. God sees your labors. And he says they’re not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Heb. 6:10). God seems to favor doing his work through the weak and the few (1 Cor. 1:26-28; Judg. 7:2-8; Dt. 20:1-8; Mt. 15:32-28). That’s why I think average worship leaders play a significant part in God’s purposes to exalt his Son throughout the world. Don’t Forget While there’s never anything “average” about leading people to exalt the glories of Christ through music and the Word, we can always grow. So to encourage you and spur you on, here are a few thoughts: - It can’t be said too frequently that while God can use technology, skill, and excellence, he doesn’t require them - What every leader has to offer people is the gospel, God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit, working through redeemed sinners, i.e., us. - The same God who seems so present in a crowd of 10,000, is just as present in your church of 113. - The Holy Spirit doesn’t need a dark room or dramatic lighting to reveal Christ to people. He’s been using natural light quite effectively for thousands of years. - We’re responsible for the resources we have, not the ones we don’t have (2 Cor. 8:12). - Being average doesn’t mean we can’t get better through practice, evaluation, and hard work. - Being average doesn’t give us freedom to uncharitably judge or fail to learn from those who have greater gifts and opportunities than we do. - Average musicians can be as self-sufficient as gifted ones, which should motivate us to pray consistently. - The goal of our labors is not success or popularity, but faithfulness. So if you fall into the category of the average worship leader, I want to thank you for your labors and encourage you to keep growing. God is using you in more ways than you can imagine to build his church and bring glory to his Son. And because Jesus is the perfect worship leader who paid for all our sins and failings through his substitutionary death on the cross, we can look forward to the day when every faithful leader, average or not, will stand before the Father and hear him say, “Well done.” What many musicians don’t realise is that it’s not enough just to be able to play your instrument; you have to know how to be in a band – it’s an altogether different skill. While spending tons of hours at home practicing is important, it’s also vital that we get together with some other musicians and make some good noise together. When you first get together as a band, the noise may not be so good, but as you develop your ability to play together, it will slowly get better.
There are a number of skills that you need in order to play effectively in a band. 1. Knowing what to play First start by knowing what key the song is in; when I play in a worship band I often have a list of all the songs and the keys the worship leader wants to do them in. If you know the key, and the scales that go with it, you’ll make far fewer mistakes. Preparation for playing live music is a 4-stage process: 1. practice, 2. rehearsal, 3. sound check, 4. performance. We might miss these out when we try to practice during the rehearsal and sound check during the performance. 2. Listening to each other The simplest way to do this is to think about the sound a band makes in terms of a bass, a midrange and a treble. The bass is covered by the bass guitar and the kick drum and floor/rack toms. The midrange comes from a rhythm guitar, keys and vocals, which treble comes from the cymbals and perhaps keys, lead guitar and female vocals. Worship bands often have more instruments, like brass, strings, an organ etc. which can sometimes mess things up a bit, especially if everyone is trying to play in the midrange or treble. When you’re improvising, think about which bases are already well-covered, and play elsewhere. Also, make sure you’re all tuned up, and all tuned to the same note. If you’re playing with a piano, you’ll have to tune to the piano, not to a tuner. Whatever you tune to, make sure everyone is the same. 3. Knowing when to play, and when not to play Some musicians feel that they have to play all the time. The best musicians are the ones who know when not to play. What we don’t play is just as important as what we do play (rests are just as important as notes!). Sometimes space needs to be filled; sometimes it needs to be left as space. Knowing when to play or not is not an exact science…be brave, try different things. Sometimes I won’t play at all in a verse and come in with strong power chords in a chorus…this can give the song a big lift going into the chorus. Try things for yourself. 4. Understanding the song When playing in worship bands we need not only to understand the musical theory behind a song, we also need to understand message in the song. Worship songs represent our expression to the Creator, and what we play needs to tie in with what a song is putting across. Before you start playing, read the lyrics and make sure you understand them. I love the haunting intro to ‘Inside Out’ on Mighty to Save and United We Stand as I think it really fits with what the song is saying. Think about other examples where a guitar part really fits in with what the song is saying, both Christian and non-Christian. Also, think about when a song really doesn’t want a guitar-intro – some songs work so much better when introduced with keys or synth. We need to have the humility to say‘Actually, I think that would really work with a piano intro’. Article derived from http://guitarpraise.blogspot.com Background
Recently, one of the boys in my cell group complained that church was 'boring', and that the worship was 'insincere'. I thought deeper into it, and realised that these were surface excuses. The main issue was that he was not interested in God at all. If he was, he would have found church exciting - a person chasing after God would look forward to the outpouring of thanksgiving during worship, the thirst for God's Word during the sermon, etc. Attitudes bear out in Actions Similarly, attitudes matter in how engaged we are in our ministries. Years ago, several musicians were late for a rehearsal led by a pastor in my church, who then talked about how it could be due to two reasons i) valid reasons, e.g. traffic jams, or ii) a poor attitude. A poor attitude doesn't arise because the person 'just happens' to not feel like going for rehearsal. Rather, it arises because the 'spark' and interest to serve and worship God isn't there. Conversely, consistent sloppiness is often a sign of a poor attitude. Hence, although there is often a tendency to look at the action (e.g. coming late), what really matters is the underlying impetus and passion to serve. After all, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7). This bears out in Numbers 14. Prior to entering the Promise Land, the Israelites rebelled against God when they heard negative reports from the spies. God, however, did not touch about the act of rebellion, but addressed the underlying attitude, which is a lack of faith: "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?" (Num 14:11). Cutting-Edge Ministries My church's senior pastor constantly challenges us to to engage in 'cutting-edge ministries'. This bears out in Col 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. What is working for God like? Put it this way - I put a few mins to give inputs to my colleagues at work, and maybe about an hour for my director. Butrecently, our Ministers (i work in the civil service) had a question - i poured sweat over it for days! In the same vein, the effort that goes into serving God multiplies a thousand-fold as compared to serving Men. Putting the Two Together having high standards is an act of worship to God, an effort to bring worship that is deserving of His glory. On a practical note, this bears out in e.g. being punctual, preparing in advance, and practicing on your own. But these will never happen without a thirst for God's will to be realised, without a love for God, and without a passion for pleasing God because "whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). Admittedly, we can never offer a standard worthy of God, but as mentioned earlier, ultimately it is the heart that counts, and this is borne out in our constant desire to raise the bar, and in our discipline in preparation and punctuality. Article derived from http://guitarpraise.blogspot.com Unstoppable worshipers will never quit when it comes to adoring God. Faced with opposition, danger or even death, they just keep going. We're told of worshipers in the early church who, more than simply enduring, actually rejoiced "because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Jesus" - Acts 5:41
"Unstoppable Worshipers" from the Bible: 1. The Three Hebrew Children (Daniel 3) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were sentenced to the fiery furnace when they refused to bow down the golden image erected by King Nebuchadnezzar. In fact they were given a second chance to consider the king's command. They made it absolutely clear that they would not compromise and maintained their covenant relationship with the God of Israel and refused to bow down and worship anyone other than YAHWEH. As unquenchable worshipers, their response to the king were consistent even to the point facing death. "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if He doesn't we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." - Daniel 3:16-18 2. Daniel in the Lion's Den (Daniel 6) Daniel was thrown into the lions' den by jealous people who trapped him by making it illegal for him to worship God. They convinced king Darius to make it mandatory for all his subjects to worship him for the next 30 days and anyone caught worshiping anyone else must be thrown into a den of hungry lions. (Daniel 6:6-9) Daniel of course remained true to his God and since he made no attempt to hide this, he was caught praying and worshiping God and was thrown into the lions' den. We read in Daniel 6:23, "And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in his God." The word "trusted" was translated that the Unstoppable Worshiper "trust continually". The fact that the lions immediately devoured Daniel's accusers in the morning proves they had been hungry all night long. 3. Job (Job 1) When tripped of everything, the first thing he did was to fall down to the ground and worshiped. "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and fell to the ground and worshiped." (Job 1:20) 4. King David True worship often meets with opposition. Take the life of king David. His first triumph was a powerful public act of unstoppable worship. The giant Goliath had put fear into all Israel, and the whole nation was afraid to stand up against him for the honor of God's name. Then in came David - too small for a suit of armor, and as Saul told him, still only a boy. Yet this passionate lover of God can't stand to see the armies of the living God made a fool of, and he walked out onto the battlefield so that "the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel" (1 Samuel 17:46). Goliath despise him (v. 42) but, anointed by God and driven by passion for the Lord, king David overcome. The worship of God wins the day! 5. Stephen of Acts The story of Stephen's stoning in Acts 7 sheds some more light on this. He puts his life on the line, proclaiming Jesus to cold hearts that don't want to hear, and rebuked them for their religious pride. But just before they stone him to death. God allows Stephen an amazing depth of revelation - perhaps to help this first Christian martyr stay strong to the end. Stephen was allowed a glimpse of heaven's throne room, and saw Jesus at the right hand of God. The unstoppable worshiper lets nothing hinder them in their quest to glorify God. Whatever "goliaths" come their way, they walk out onto that worship battlefield and take their chances. They do not shrink back in times of trouble, but instead raise a spirited psalm of trust, obedient and praise! "May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees" - Psalm 119:171
Praise will revolutionize your life! There's no doubt about it. It will reorient your thinking, taking your mind off of yourself and placing firmly on God, where it belongs. Rehearsing His mercies will open your eyes to them, and confessing His name as the source behind all your blessings will magnify your blessings enormously. Praise is a radical step in a life-changing direction. The problem many believers have with that is where to start. How do you praise God? Where do you begin? What if you're discouraged and depressed, and your eyes can hardly see the blessings He's given, much less prompt your mouth to praise him for them? What if you hardly know who He is and can barely come up with words to say? The Psalmist gives us the answer: Begin in His WORD. Very practically, here's a good way to learn to praise the Lord. Begin reading. Open your Bible to any page in any section - it doesn't matter where, although Psalms or the New Testament as a good place to start. Begin reading a passage. When you get a verse that speaks of God's faithfulness, praise Him for His faithfulness. Think of ways He's been faithful to you. When the WORD speaks of His sacrifice or His love or His promises, Praise Him for His sacrifice, love or promises. As often as His WORD reveals some aspect of His Character or His works, thank Him for that character and those works. Voice your gratitude for the way He is and the things He does. Before long, you will be an endless fountain of praise. Can you think of a better use of your life than being an endless fountain of praise? God uses such fountains mightily. He changes hearts and redeems souls for just such purposes. you might have always thought that He is focused on your behavior - and certainly He cares about it - but behavior begins in the heart. Praise reorient the heart. Focus there, and let your fountain flow. Man's chief work is to praise God - Augustine "Everyday I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever." - Psalm 145:2
As we step into the New Year, what would be our thanksgiving, praise and worship to our King be like? Is it a Sunday ritual or a emotion that we can put on and take off? Is it limited to one style of music or a particular church? God seeks those whose worship comes from deep within. He desires legitimate praise and integrity between heart and mouth. He wants to be one we treasure most. Most of all, He wants you. Yes all of you! If you don't have a daily time of thanksgiving, praise and worship, make one. Let us establish genuine praise of the Father, the Son and the Spirit as a daily experience. Psalm 145 is a good place to start. It mentions the urge to praise and worship our King daily. And it is glorious in it's sweeping praise of the Lord, so there's no shortage of material in it by which our mouth can honor Him, if for some reason praise is hard to come by. Read it daily - slowly, thoughtfully, worshipfully. Don't let it become a stale routine, only a treasured habit. The exaltation of the King is always to be treasured. God places great importance on thanksgiving, praise and worship. Withholding thanksgiving, praise and worship is an injustice toward God. We owe Him everything, and it is only right that we give thanks to Him and ascribe to Him "the glory due to his name" (Psalm 29:2). For these reasons and many others, thanksgiving, praise and worship is not a mere obligation. It is our greatest privilege as a children of the living God. It should rank high in our priorities! If you don't have a daily time of thanksgiving, praise and worship, make one. Put them even higher on your list of priorities than making prayer request to God. Let them be the springboard into your request and your study of the word. Stop now, if you can, and give thanks, praise and worship Him for at least one of His benefits. If you have ever needed a dramatic change, daily, heartfelt thanksgiving, praise and worship will bring it about. |
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September 2017
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